NEW DELHI, Feb 9: The Supreme Court on Monday deferred to February 23 the hearing on pleas filed by Meta Platforms Inc and WhatsApp challenging a Competition Commission of India (CCI) order imposing a penalty of ₹213.14 crore over their privacy policy.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria adjourned the matter after being informed that senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the companies, was unwell. The court said it would take up the pleas on February 23 for passing an interim order.
The bench also allowed a litigant represented by senior advocate Arvind Datar to be impleaded as a party in the case.
Earlier, on February 3, the top court made strong observations against Meta and WhatsApp, stating that they could not “play with the right to privacy of citizens in the name of data sharing.” The bench had alleged that the companies were creating a monopoly and indulging in the misuse of private information of users.
Criticising WhatsApp’s privacy policy, the court referred to “silent customers” who were unorganised, digitally dependent and unaware of the implications of data-sharing policies, asserting that it would not allow citizens’ rights to be compromised. WhatsApp is owned by Meta Platforms Inc.
The apex court is hearing appeals filed by the two tech giants against a CCI order that imposed a penalty of ₹213.14 crore over alleged violations related to the privacy policy.
On November 4, 2025, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had set aside a part of the CCI order that barred WhatsApp from sharing user data with Meta for advertising purposes for five years, but upheld the monetary penalty.
Subsequently, the NCLAT clarified that its ruling on privacy and consent safeguards also applied to user data collection and sharing for non-WhatsApp purposes, including both advertising and non-advertising activities.
The Supreme Court had earlier said it would pass an interim order on February 9 and directed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology be impleaded as a party to the appeals. The bench is also hearing a cross-appeal filed by the CCI challenging the NCLAT order that allowed continued data sharing for advertising purposes. (Agencies)
